


Looking Through Red (Or is it Blue?) Eyes

by SilverEyesAndFallingSnow



Category: Gintama
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Joui War, M/M, soulmate, young gintoki, young hijikata
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-25 01:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13823658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverEyesAndFallingSnow/pseuds/SilverEyesAndFallingSnow
Summary: Hijikata wakes up in the middle of a war. Gintoki wakes up in a dojo in the middle of the county side. Here's the twist, neither is in their own body. Soulmate AU of teenage Hijikata and Gintoki swapping bodies for three days.





	1. Always Pay Attention to Your Surroundings When it is the First Chapter

**Author's Note:**

> Soulmates AU:  
> You switch bodies with the person who is your soulmate when the youngest of the pair turns 18. The two will have 3 days to find one other and switch back. If they don’t find one other they automatically switch back after the 3rd day. If they are automatically switched back after the third day they will be unable to remember the full name of their soulmate and instead will only remember a nick name associated with their partner. They forget most other memories about the other person. Only upon finding that person and matching the nick name with them, will they remember the details of the swap.

Day 1- Hijikata POV

Waking up Hijikata knew something was off. Before he even opened his eyes his body felt like crap. Aches and pains, hunger, and a deep weariness made his body feel heavy. That was strange because the last time he felt that shitty was back when Kondou had first found him after being beaten up by a bunch of thugs (not that he didn’t fight back but damn those cowards for using numbers). Slowly as his senses started to register more of his surroundings he realized that he was lying on a cold hard floor instead of his usual futon. There was a lot of noise outside which was normal but the type of racket was different. The sharp sounds of metal clinking instead of fabric swooshing as people walked about and the ringing of metal swords meeting instead of wooden practice ones. Lastly the smell was wrong. Instead of the clean relaxing smell of the rural dojo Hijikata lived at with Kondou and the others, it smelt like dirt and smoke and the undeniable metallic tang of blood.

Everything was different and wrong yet Hijikata fought to wake up fully despite his building panic. He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept so deeply and it was a struggle to fight his way up out of unconsciousness. He finally opened his eyes when he heard an unfamiliar male voice near him.

“Get up already Gintoki, it’s getting late, even for you!” the voice scolded in an almost motherly way.  

His eyes snapped open at last and he took in his surroundings. He was indeed lying on the ground on a thin cloth that was a mockery of a futon and had possibly been white once but was now a dark grey. He was inside a canvas tent, the walls stained and the morning light peaking through the various small holes and rips scattered about the fabric. The inside was painfully bare, a small bowl with dirty water, a canteen, an oil lamp with glass turned black from use. Some armor was piled in the corner; Hijikata could see a black breastplate and some arm guards among other things. Lastly next to him lay a katana with a worn hilt and equally worn scabbard. Sitting up he looked down at himself to see that he was wearing a haori and hakama instead of his usual yukata. The cloth looked like it had once been pure white but was now stained. Mostly grey and brown but Hijikata wasn’t naïve enough to not recognize the majority of stains as being old blood.

Just as Hijikata was starting to freak out because _how the hell did I get here?_ A head poked in from the tent flaps and proceeded to rant.

“Gintoki, I swear you are insufferable! Don’t pretend that you didn’t hear me earlier, get that lazy ass in gear already. I don’t care if you’re sore from the battle yesterday, that’s what your get for charging off on your own again! Maybe next time you’ll listen…” and at that point Hijikata zoned out because _seriously wait what?_ He didn’t understand half of what the long haired male was talking about or why he kept calling him Gintoki. Apparently the man realized Hijikata was not paying attention because he quickly stopped talking and tilted his head to the side.

“Alright what’s the deal? It’s not like you to just sit there and listen silently. Does this have to do with you refusing to visit the medic yesterday after the battle? Be honest with me” the man said with a heavy sigh, like he was used to dealing with trouble and stubbornness and was just tired of it.

Realizing he had to actually answer Hijikata tried to narrow down the fifteen million questions he had into the most important which ended up being “who are you? Where am I? And why do you keep calling me Gintoki?”

Immediately the male responded “It’s not _who are you_ , its Katsura! And obviously you are in your tent and what should I call you? Would you prefer Gintoki when I’m being polite, Shiroyasha when you are fighting and Baka when I feel like being honest? Don’t think asking stupid questions will help you stall time, just move already.”

The latter half of the sentence and insult grazed right over Hijikata as that one name rang in his ears _Shiroyasha, Shiroyasha, Shiroyasha_. It wasn’t just that he knew that name, of course he recognized the name of one of the most famous Joui Patriots, but it was something more, right at the edge of his brain. He leaned over with a grunt of pain as his head started to hurt. The name kept ringing, demanding to be acknowledged, but as what?

Instantly Katsura was by his side, hand gently resting on Hijikata’s back, concern written all over his face.

“Gintoki, what’s wrong? Are you injured, don’t hide it” he said in a soothing voice despite the obvious worry underlining the words.

“Stop calling me that, my name is Toshirou” Hijikata said. It was weird to give his first name out to a stranger but he was worried about revealing he was part of the rich Hijikata family, even if that family wanted nothing to do with him. He was almost positive he was in a Joui camp, and the last thing he wanted was to be captured and used for ransom or something equally stupid.

Without missing a beat, despite the mess Hijikata’s head was in, he continued “Your name was Katsura right? How would you feel if someone kept calling you the wrong name?” he snapped while glaring at the mentioned man.

Katsura’s face turned a shade paler as he quickly put some distance between the two and his hand immediately went to his sword hilt. Hijikata noticed the hostility but didn’t reach for the sword lying next to him. Partly because he realized things would only escalate if he did, and partly because there was no room to for him or Katsura to draw a weapon inside the cramped tent.

“Who are you? Ignoring the total hypocrisy of what you just said, Gintoki hasn’t call me Katsura in years” then narrowing his hazel green eyes he continued in a less shocked and more threatening voice “are you some sort of Amanto spy? Better confess now or I’ll kill you where you stand.”

Hijikata was shocked at those words, sure he had beaten up many assholes that had tried to attack him or pissed him off, and he had threatened to kill that brat Sougo more times than he could count but never in total seriousness like this. The threat pissed him off but he realized now was not a good time to start a fight when he didn’t really even know where the hell he was.

Raising his hands slowly he kept his temper to a minimum and said in the calmest voice he could manage “like I said my name is Toshirou, I’m from a dojo in the countryside. I certainly am no amanto spy. I’ve never even seen one to be honest. Can you just explain what I am doing here? I fell asleep last night at the dojo and I just woke up here”.

Hijikata fought to keep his face calm, even as his nerves started to fray from stress, confusion, anger and fear. He couldn’t help but feel unnerved by Katsura’s intense stare. Despite the silly attitude at the start, Hijikata could see intelligence in the man’s eyes as he calculated the situation. The harshness from earlier faded away as confusion replaced the threatening stare from before. Suddenly Katsura’s mouth opened with a little “oh” and the puzzlement was quickly replaced with shock.

“No way, could it be…” he mumbled before going quiet looking at Hijikata with a much more analytical gleam in his eyes.

Hijikata couldn’t help the tick of frustration on his forehead as his famously short temper quickly ran out. “Oi, bastard, stop staring like that, just explain what the hell is going on already!”

“Use the blade of that katana next to you to take a look at yourself” Katsura said while pointing to the sword at Hijikata’s side.

“Why should I bother? Just tell me what it is you figured out” Hijikata demanded but reached for the sword anyway.

Drawing the katana slowly, he only had room to pull it out about half way. It was a weird feeling, like his muscles had done the action a million times even though he only could recall a hand full of times he had actually held a katana. Looking down at the blade it only took a second to realize that the blue eyes he was expecting were in fact red. Further analysis showed high cheek bones, a smaller nose and most surprising bright white hair despite the lack of wrinkles on the unfamiliar face staring back at him.

Unable to look away from the strange sight in front of him, Hijikata practically whispered “what the hell?”

So shocked at the realization that he was not himself, Hijikata almost missed Katsura’s quiet reply of “I think you must be Gintoki’s soulmate…”

**xxx**

Day 1- Gintoki POV

Gintoki didn’t want to get up. He had been having an incredibly good sleep which was unusual these days. It tended to be hard to have a deep sleep when he was constantly surrounded by a literal army of loud men. However, he was snapped out of his sleep instantly when he sensed someone leaning over him.  In the span of only a few seconds the person was on the floor, and Gintoki was on top of them, restraining them with one hand while he instinctively reached for the katana that should be right next to him.

Coming away empty handed was the first clue that something was off. Being attacked in his sleep was nothing new, since he and the others had started making names for themselves, countless attempts had been made on his life. However his sword being gone was seriously wrong. He never let the sword that Shouyou Sensei had given him out of his sight.

It only took a few more seconds after that first shock for the rest of the details to sink in. He was inside an actual building, not his tent. He was on a futon instead of a few rags. It was quiet, the dull roar of hundreds of men suddenly gone after years of being a constant. Looking down at his attacker, he realized the body he was pinning was that of a small boy. He only relaxed his hold slightly when he saw that there was no tattoo of a crow on the back of his neck. He had been fooled only once by a young face, but it had been near fatal. Assassins came in all sizes, but the brown-haired boy beneath him didn’t seem to be one. In fact when he looked over at the object the boy was holding it appeared to be a black marker.

“Oi kid, did you really try to sneak up on me just to draw on my face?” Gintoki asked in an amused voice, the kid had guts.

He felt the kid tense for a moment, testing the hold before settling and responding, “of course not, what would ever give you that idea Hijikata-kun? Also when did you learn a pin like this? Getting desperate to beat me?”

Gintoki just cocked his head to the side in confusion and didn’t answer. What was this kid talking about? His name certainly wasn’t Hijikata and he didn’t even know any soldier with that name. Then again maybe he should be more concerned with the whole _in a completely different place than I fell asleep_ thing.  

“Hey kid where are we exactly?” Gintoki asked after a second of thought, deciding to ignore the boy’s questions.

The kid snorted before replying in a mocking tone “is the head trauma from all those losses finally kicking in? Have you lost what little brain you had Hijikata-kun? Your acting weirder than normal, which is really saying something considering your just a thorny stray overstaying his welcome.”

Something about that name, thorny, seemed important. However Gintoki couldn’t think much about it before a strong wave of vertigo swept over him. He loosened his hold on the brown-haired boy and that was all it took before he escaped the hold and was back on his feet. Gintoki had to hand it to him, the kid was fast. He would have admired that more if it weren’t for the fact that his head was currently ringing, the name thorny repeating again and again.

The kid looked at him for a second before a small frown appeared on his face “what’s wrong with you? You look like your going to be sick. You better stay away from my sister if you have something. Are you dying? I hope you are dying. Die Hijikata”

Holding his head, Gintoki looked up at the youth and in an unimpressed voice replied “Tone down the murder vibes for a second and calm down. Who is this Hijikata person you keep talking about? I think you have the wrong person my name is Gintoki. And seriously where the hell are we?”

It was then that Gintoki noticed the dark blue yukata that he was wearing. While it was obviously used it was much cleaner than anything he had seen in a long time. He also noticed the mass of black hair that was draped over one of his shoulders. In disbelief he tugged on it and lo and behold it was connected to his head. This had to be some messed up dream, Gintoki had never had long, straight black hair.

Tugging at his own hair must have been the final clue for the child in front of him.

“You’re not Hijikata are you? But how? Unless…” then he gasped and Gintoki looked up at him, surprised by the vulnerable sound before the boy continued with a sudden hiss “how dare you break her heart like this” before storming off to a sliding door across the room and disappearing.

 _The hell?_ Gintoki thought to himself confused by the sudden switch in moods. What was up with that kid anyway? Whatever it didn’t matter. He needed to find a mirror or something because either someone was playing a really elaborate prank and glued a Zura wig on his head or he was going insane.

As he was starting to stand up a different person entered the room in a flurry. He was older than Gintoki, darker skinned and had his hair tied up in a traditional way. His face seemed like the type to always be smiling but there was worry there instead right now.

“Ignore Sougo, he is just a little upset right now” the man said in a loud voice, probably unaware he was practically yelling.

Gintoki just crossed his arms, unimpressed as he spotted a small figure in the hallway glaring daggers at him “yeah he seems pissed, what did I ever do to him?”

Waving his hands franticly the man replied “Nothing! Nothing at all! He’s just surprised that’s all. Everyone was so sure Hijikata and Mitsuba were meant to be together, its just a bit of a shock.”

 “Look as fascinating as this all sounds, I really need to…” but before Gintoki could finish the man was talking (yelling) again.

“My bad, let me introduce myself. My name is Kondou Isao” he said as he outstretched his hand.

Grumbling slightly Gintoki shook the hand while answering “Gintoki”, he didn’t bother with his last name, no one called him by it anyway. Not since he was just a little brat at school.

“Nice to meet you! I’m surprised, Gintoki is a male name right, who would have guessed. When nothing happened on Hijikata’s 18th birthday everyone just figured it would be Mitsuba, but soulmates are unpredictable like that” Kondou rambled on.

Gintoki had been in the process of blocking out the man’s words until he heard that one term, _soulmate_. It all started to click and a wave of conflicting emotions swam over him as it started to sink in.

Staring dumbfoundedly Gintoki could only sit there and process as Kondou stated “Welcome to my dojo, the Tennen Rishin-Ryuu. I can’t wait to learn more about you, soulmate of Hijikata Toshirou.”


	2. Facing Uncomfortable Silences is an Unavoidable Part of Life

Day 1 – Hijikata’s POV

It took a second for Katsura’s words to sink in. Hijikata had already had his 18th birthday back in the beginning of May and nothing had happened. That was all the confirmation people seemed to need to decide Mitsuba was going to be his soulmate. Everyone was just waiting for her birthday next year at the end of May to make it official.

It sort of annoyed Hijikata that people were so sure about who he was going to spend the rest of his life with. However as tiresome as the teasing and pointed looks were, there was no one else he could imagine being with. Mitsuba was a saint, kind and patient, funny and good natured. She was burdened with sickness and having to raise a true sadist of a little brother, yet she was always so positive. He couldn’t imagen anyone else who could put up with a trouble making thorny like himself.

Yet he often didn’t feel like he deserved her. He knew he loved her, but he was still trying to figure out what kind of love he felt. All he knew for sure what that he would go to the ends of the earth for her.  He thought that was all that mattered.

Apparently fate didn’t agree though because here he was, in the middle of a god damn war camp, in no other than the freaking Shiroyasha’s body. His head was spinning. Up till yesterday he had thought of being with no one but sweet and kind Mitsuba. Now he was supposedly destined to end up with a literal demon of war. Something was seriously screwy with this situation. Was fate punishing him for something?

He didn’t even realize that he had stayed frozen in the same position, staring at his new reflection until another voice broke his concentration.

“What the hell is taking you two so long? I swear to god Gintoki if you got something stuck in Zura’s hair again…” A new voice grumbled as a man with short, purplish black hair stuck his head into the tent.

“Takasugi! I thought we agreed to never mention that again!” Katsura quickly replied, sounding absolutely scandalized.

Without missing a beat, the new man shot back “Don’t yell at me, I’m not the one who somehow got a simple comb tangled up in your hair so bad it took hours to get it out. I swear we should have just cut it out.” 

The already cramped space suddenly got more cramped as the man fully entered the tent. Looking down at Hijikata with a scowl on his face the man asked “What are you doing? No matter how long you stare at your reflection, that hideous perm isn’t going to disappear.”

It dawned on Hijikata that he indeed did have the sword half drawn still. He fully sheathed it but didn’t respond verbally. He was still trying to get a read on the new comer. The man was short and seemed temperamental but moved with the lightness and grace of an excellent swordsman. That name seemed familiar too, Takasugi… Where had he heard that before?

Lost once more in his thoughts, Hijikata was unaware of the awkward silence that followed. Something that may have been concern flashed across Takasugi’s face but quickly was replaced with a scowl.

The shorter samurai looked over to Katsura and asked “What’s wrong with him? Did he hit his head or something?”

Katsura slowly shook his head no before responding “It’s not Gintoki at all. It’s Gintoki’s soulmate.”

Takasugi’s reply was immediate. Completely deadpan he replied, “There is no way an idiot like Gintoki could have a soulmate.”

The two men then proceeded to argue back and forth, Katsura complaining Takasugi was being too mean while the shorter man argued he was being realistic. As this arguing continued (it could almost be comical to Hijikata if the situation wasn’t total shit) the now white-haired man could feel his blood pressure rising dangerously quick. While Hijikata wasn’t particularly offended about the insults to his supposed soulmate, he was getting sick of being ignored. It was ‘Gintoki’ this and ‘Gintoki’ that. No one seemed to care that a random stranger was now in the middle of a war camp. Well except for Katsura thinking he was a spy and threating to kill him a few minutes ago. They were lucky he wasn’t freaking out like any rational person would be.

“Don’t you think that’s irrelevant at this point?” Hijikata bit out, trying his hardest to not yell. The result was practically a hiss but at least he wasn’t screaming like he wanted to. “In case you haven’t noticed, this isn’t exactly where I planned on waking up this morning. Now can someone at least have the common decency to tell me where I am and what is going on? Besides the obvious answers of in a tent and in a different body?”

That little speech managed to shut the two Joui up for a second. Hijikata felt a swell of satisfaction from the shocked faces of the other two men (who seriously seemed to have forgotten he was even there) before the sudden swell of hostility from Takasugi managed to make Hijikata a little nervous felling.

In the blink of an eye, Takasugi grabbed Hijikata by the front of his shirt and hauled him up from the floor. Later Hijikata would realize that the man in front of him was crazy strong for being able to manage such a feat so effortlessly. But at the current moment all he could focus on was the pure murder in the green eyes staring at him.

In an even, but with an undercurrent of anger the shorter, yet looming man began speaking, “You have some fight in you all right. You would have to, to be _his_ match. But you listen closely. Whoever you think you are, however strong you see yourself, whatever self importance you imagine yourself with, you are nothing here. You don’t know a damn thing about any of us, or this mess you landed yourself in. You want answers? Fine wait till we are done talking then ask politely. Or better yet use some god damn context clues. There is no way you don’t know whose body you are in. If you had even a shred of care about your country, regardless of your political views, you would know the war has been centered in Mutsu for the last 6 months.” Hijikata swore he could see the stirring of madness in the other man’s eyes as he finished his lecture, “Don’t talk like we are all equals here. Especially with _his_ face, you are not him, don’t act like it.”

The two men were locked in a stare down. Hijikata was pissed at being talked down to like that. But at the same time, there was something incredibly dangerous about the man in front of him. He was torn between his mind screaming at him to fight back and his instincts telling him to back off. The result was he felt frozen, staring at the other man.

Finally a sharp “Enough” rang through the tent. Hijikata almost didn’t recognize it being Katsura, the tone was so commanding. It broke the standoff, and with a huff, Takasugi finally let go of Hijikata and took a few steps back.

Hijikata could feel his heart pounding from adrenaline. It suddenly was clear who he was dealing with. Takasugi, the Takasugi Shinsuke, as in the leader of the Kiheitai, as in the leader of the demon army. He had just managed to piss off a virtual demon. And that sharp, commanding tone from Katsura? He had to be Katsura Kotarou, aka the Noble Youth of Madness, aka the Rampaging Noble. He was in a tent of god damn legends. No, not just legends. Monsters. It should have been obvious, he was in the Shiroyasha’s body, of course the others would be on the same level of fame. Yet it was still a shock to realize. No wonder Takasugi had been so pissed, he was a high-ranking military officer, basically a general, with the skills and bloodlust to lead an army of demons.

Regardless, Hijikata wasn’t one to be pushed around or intimidated. Yet even as he thought that, he couldn’t bring himself to speak and break the heavy silence that had fallen over the three men. He wasn’t just in the middle of the war, he was in the absolute _middle_ of the war. It was said that 4 people were responsible for keeping the war movement alive and in the Joui’s favor. And he was looking at two of them, and in the body of the third. He didn’t really agree with the war, but he still was a little shell shocked. _Japan’s last samurai_ some called them. God, what had he gotten himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back! Its my two year anniversary of being on archive! Wait it's been a year since I last updated... Oh, my bad... Well this chapter is a little short, but hey you guys deserve something for stick around so long. So thank you to everyone who as followed this story and enjoy! Hopefully I will get a Gintoki follow up posted soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! To celebrate one year on AO3 I am posting my second story! Seems I can't get away from AU tropes but oh well they are fun to write. Let me know what you think and thank you for your support! As always all credit for creating these amazing characters goes to the one and only gorilla author.


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